Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Fake Jews is Fake News | ArrowsFromZion 5/22/19



FAKE JEWS is FAKE NEWS

The Hebrew Magazine pictured is an article in a Yad L'Achim mailer sent out to warn Israelis of "missionaries" among them. The accusation is that they are "fake Jews" trying to trap Jews into becoming Christians with a false observance of Biblical Hebrew holiday and religious services. 

What they think is a 'trick' to entrap, is really just authentic Messianic Jewish expression of faith that was the common first century, apostolic Jewish life anyone can read about in the New Testament.

But we need to talk more about the misconceptions of unsaved Jews. Why? Because Israel-supporting Christians must come to grips with the fact that Messianic believers as "Fake Jews" is nothing more than FAKE NEWS. TRUTH: We share like precious faith.



FAKE JEWS is FAKE NEWS
& Other Misjudgments of Messianic Jews


When I looked in my photo files for a graphic depiction to go with my theme this week of Fake Jews is Fake News, I went straight to my "Persecution" folder. Over the years I have copied dozens of photographic depictions of persecution against the Israeli Messianic congregations with everything from mobs invading congregations to arson attacks; from "Wanted" posters with pictures of congregational leaders to the slick print ads and magazines like the one pictured above from Yad L'Achim.

If you don't know, Yad L'Achim is one of the most aggressive ultra-Orthodox "anti-missionary" groups in Israel. The lead the misinformation war against the Jewish believers in Jesus. But just to keep it in proper spiritual context, if this was the first century of faith in Israel, then the apostle Paul would have been a member of Yad L'Achim before Yeshua was revealed to Shaul.  In other words, refrain from hating them even as you hate the things they do because they could very well be tapped by God in the future to come the knowledge of the true Messiah of Israel. Bible prophecy indicates, "and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns an only child, and weep bitterly for Him as one grieves a firstborn son."

We are not there yet, but we are well underway as the Israeli Messianic Jews are the main facilitators of the salvation of "all Israel". That is why there is such spiritual opposition to who they are, the representative of the Israeli Messiah in the nation of Israel. They are misjudged by the Jews and misunderstood by the Christians, but they are chosen of God to bring the message of Good News to Israel and that is what they are doing despite the opposition and despite the lack of support from the majority of international Christians. That too is destined by God to change.

It is a blessing that the very day I sat to begin this "Fake Jews is Fake News" issue, a new article by Daniel Juster came out called, "Mina Fenton's Worst Nightmare". Here are just a few excerpts to give you a gist of Juster's article but I recommend reading it all. It will change your vision for the Israeli ministries in a powerful way. Dan writes:
"Mina Fenton’s worst fear is that Messianic Jews would be successful and that great numbers of Jews in Israel would become disciples of Yeshua. She thinks this would destroy the Jewish people. Who is Mina Fenton? She was an Orthodox Jew who served on the Jerusalem City Council. Had she gone on a campaign against Messianic Jews? No, not Messianic Jews, but against Christian Zionist organizations! ....Because she claimed that Christian Zionist organizations are fronts for “missionizing” Jews. In addition, Christian Zionist organizations, in her view, lower the resistance of Jewish people against Christian belief.

"....Materially, Mina Fenton was and is wrong. Christian Zionists organizations do not focus any evangelistic efforts on the Jews. Their role is to garner support for Israel from around the world.  However, they are of different minds concerning sharing their faith with Jews....None of them will denounce Messianic Jews, which Mina Fenton would require for any relationship.
"Of course, Christian Zionists generally accept that Messianic Jews are part of a movement raised up by God, even though most Messianic Jews are not directly part of the Christian Zionist movement per se. In addition, the Christian Allies Caucus requires all Christians with whom they work to expressly vow to not engage in proselytism. Some Christian Zionist organizations have refused to do this, while others have agreed. With regard to Mina Fenton’s campaign, the focus was on the organizations that accepted the vow! She opposed them anyway!

"Mina Fenton is important for two reasons: not because she was right – she was terribly wrong. In this time of world abandonment of Israel, Christian support is absolutely crucial. She was really doing damage to the cause of Israel. She is important because she revealed the mind-set of a significant segment of Jews in Israel. The visceral hatred of Christianity and anything with parallel beliefs like Messianic Judaism is important to understand and to combat with great prayer, love and negotiation with Israeli officials.
Secondly, Mina Fenton unknowingly anticipated prophetic fulfillment.  According to the Bible, true Christians (Gentile believers in Romans 11) will play a significant role in making Israel jealous. Their mercy will soften hearts; and this is happening today. There are many articles in the Jewish press in Israel that call Evangelicals “our best friends.” Mina Fenton did not want hearts to be softened towards the gospel.

"What If Messianic Jews were fabulously successful? For Mina Fenton and her ilk, Jews embracing Yeshua is a great existential danger to the State of Israel and the Jewish people. So, I want to respond by painting a word picture of a very successful Messianic Jewish movement in Israel. I believe we are to pray for this success, and I believe it is possible.

"....There would be an influence for reverencing the Law of God, not in the Rabbinic way of multiplied legal restrictions added to the Bible, but in the broad biblical lines of Law which have application to both universal morality and to Jewish life today. This would elevate the whole of Israel as a more law abiding society, both in regards to moral and civil law. At the present time, Israeli society is very lawless. The true Torah of God would be extolled through Messianic Jewish influence. As a consequence, the conscience of the people of Israel would be restored and the whole tone of society would improve. Abortion would be greatly diminished. Sexual immorality and prostitution would decline and fidelity in marriage and family would increase. Because Messianic Jews do not live in an Orthodox ghetto, they could be an influence in much greater ways than the Orthodox. Corruption in government would diminish and political leaders would act with greater integrity. Some Messianic Jews would even serve in government! New Age spirituality would greatly diminish. …In the Torah, involvement in these practices is a capital offense. Yet, it is common in Israel. There is even an Orthodox Jewish form of such magic in some Kabalistic practices." 

Do you see how all Israel will be impacted by the increase of Israeli Jewish believers in Yeshua? What a powerful picture Dan Juster has painted for us! Please read his whole article here. 


Daystar's Jerusalem Studio torched & destroyed

I certainly didn't expect to be reporting this when I set the course for this issue of ARROWS to be focused on the reality of religious persecution in Israel. It is always important to underscore that not all Israelis harbor an aggressive ill-will toward believers, whether they are Messianic Jews, or Christians. In fact, it is a super-minority that do these type of things.

Over the two decades Israeli Messianic Jews have been the targets of several firebombings from Kiryat Yam to Arad, and the most grievous when a 15-year old boy of pastors in Ariel was nearly mortally wounded in a package bomb attack. In contrast, usually Christian buildings have only suffered vandalism.  The firebombing of Daystar's Jerusalem Studios marks an uptick in destruction.
                The day following Chris Mitchell's reporting, the Jerusalem Post has followed up with their first news of the arson attack, and add some key details about surveillance footage of the perpetrator. Their headline indicates the arson was done in the overnight hours of Shabbat, which they seem to be trying to point away it being an act of a religious Jew.  I don't rule out Arab perpetrators, after all, the studio is located in Abu Tor which is a Palestinian neighborhood in Jerusalem. But I also know that Israel really, really doesn't want to discover it was Jewish religious extremists either.  Israel-supporting Christians need to be able to deal with the truth no matter where it leads and remain committed to what GOD wants for their support of Israel.

Christian Broadcaster Daystar's Jerusalem Studio Destroyed by Firebomb | Chris Mitchell 5/20/2019 |The Jerusalem studio of Daystar, one of the largest Christian networks in the world, was firebombed over the weekend. The attack destroyed Daystar's new studio but the network plans to rebuild.  The fire began early Saturday morning when an arsonist threw a firebomb into the facility.  

Christian Broadcasting Studio Attacked by Arson on Shabbat Morning | Daystar is a pro-Israel Christian network. The studio is located in Abu Tor and had been undergoing extensive renovations for more than one year | Jerusalem Post | "Dave Sharett, the contractor overseeing the renovations told the Post that security cameras captured the arsonist in the act. “They see the explosion, then the fire,” he described. “The next second, you see a rope going over the balcony and him climbing down the rope. He goes down to the floor below, gathers the rope and runs off.”

                "Sharett said police have two theories about the incident. The first is that the crime was religiously motivated because “the TV station is Christian and its Ramadan and Muslims are upset and blah, blah, blah,” he said.

                "The other theory is that it was an Arab employee of an adjacent studio who recently became upset with some of the workers at the Daystar studio. That employee has not returned to work since the incident, according to Sharett."


Arrows from Zion
Summarized from the Weekly Summary of Prayer Requests Israeli Ministries by subscription only donna@israelprayer.com
See Ron Cantor of Messiah's Mandate opens with "Thank you so much for being a "lover of Zion". Somehow, the media has turned Zionism into a dirty word. A Zionist is someone who believes that God fulfilled His promise to the Jewish people, when He re-gathered the exiles of Zion and restored the nation of Israel. It is the greatest sign of His faithfulness to, not just Israel, but believers everywhere! I am a Zionist! Are you?"

Israel Pochtar of the Beit Hallel congregation shares what they are doing with their Alpha Course, a discipling program over 8 weeks —and get this! 25 non-believers will be participating! "These folks are Jewish Israelis whom have shown openness and interest in the Gospel of Yeshua, and are eager to learn from the Bible, to understand who their Jewish Messiah, Yeshua, really is." Wonderful, right?! Pochtar writes, "Participants always testify of how much their lives have changed, of how their marriages have been strengthened, and of how they are flourishing in the newfound love and joy they've discovered in God's presence." Please pray for the participants.

Israel also gives a super report on taking their leadership team up to the Galilee for a 3-day retreat. Please pray for the leadership team. To read more in-depth connect directly with the ministry or read it in the Weekly Summary, if you are a subscriber.

There has been a changing of the guard at the Beit Immanuel congregation in Jaffa, as David Lazarus installed the next generation of pastoral leadership  —Aleksey Raikhstadt. David sent his report on the congregational service with pictures of the event.


Last week I told you that for every organization that Christians like to donate to help Israel through non-believer organizations, there are Israeli believers ministering to the same need. We need to get on the same page with God in this matter, which is why I'm drawing your attention to the wonderful work of the Aliyah Return Center in the Jordan River area. Watch this VIDEO on Facebook with Cody Archer interviewing Chaim Malespin, the Aliyah Return Center Director of Operations.  This is a beautiful village for helping new immigrants transitioning into the land more easily —and there are great opportunities for Christians to serve in Israel through the ministry. If you want to give your Christian young people a vision for Israel, how about helping them see for themselves Summer of Purpose 2019. Here is the latest ministry letter read online here

From the Intercessors for Israel in Jerusalem, here is one very important prayer point along with a link to  read in full online. Pray for "Coalition formation - Since the elections in April, Benjamin Netanyahu has been working to form a coalition government. He has been faced with varying demands by smaller parties vying for position and power within the coalition. Many of these demands are in direct opposition from those of other groups and no one seems prepared to compromise. In the face of this situation, Netanyahu has not been able to move forward in the formation of a government. He has been granted a 2 week extension to continue negotiations. If he is not able to form a government, first opportunity will go to the opposition. If no one is successful, we would be faced with going to new elections."

Avner Boskey has written an article that may help Christians you know to catch the revelation that God has always had a plan-in-progress that led back to the restoration of Israel spiritually. The article is ♥ Israel's destiny - Two prophetic sons (and I ♥  it!) Avner writes, "The Jewish people are a living billboard to the nations. Study our history and you will understand God’s ways, His heart and His strategies. That is what I (and the Bible call) "the fruit of the Fig Tree" (Proverbs 28:18)

Maoz Ministries, Ari & Shira Sorko-Ram, like many of the senior congregational leaders in Israel, stepped out of their pastoral role a few years back passing the baton to a younger generation of ministry leaders in the Tel Aviv, Tiferet Yeshua. But that doesn't mean they retired! They are just more focused on the alignment with Christian leaders in many nations, and continuing to press into development of tools to enrich the whole body of Messiah in Israel. One of those areas is their translation and book publishing in the Hebrew language. Read the story here and Give Israelis Books of Faith.  Did you know that the Maoz Israel Report is available online in: Spanish | Hebrew | Russian | German | Portuguese | Korean?


More from Juster on fierce oppo to Messianic Jews in Judeo-Christian Values | Also 2 primary oppo to Biblical  faith The World View Question |Why Israel is NOT aparteid Zionism And Justice |To hold a negative slant on the modern State of Israel, one must be Re-Interpreting Scripture


Urgent HEALING Needs: Life and Death is in the power of the tongue
Please keep in prayer these Israeli ministry leaders and believers with urgent health needs

CONTINUE to PRAY for the urgent healing needs of EDDIE SANTORO and Jacob Damkani | Ronit Bender is awaiting repair of leaking heart valve. Please pray that no weapon formed against all three of these shall prosper & that miracles of healing will flow. NEW: Martin Sarvis has undergone arthroscopic surgery for a torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder. He will be in a shoulder/arm immobilizer for a month followed by physiotherapy to regain use of his arm. Since he needs his arm for typing and as a pianist in his worship leading at Succat Hallel, this is a significantly urgent request for successful surgery & fast, complete healing.

    Ruth Nessim has several health issues, one of the most critical is her EYES which has sent her to the hospital many times. Please pray for Ruth in Nahariya|  Olga Bikas’s health condition that seems to have become chronic, with no hope from the doctors for any improvement in the future. This, no doubt, puts an additional emotional and physical burden on our family. Please pray for her acute back pain. | Albert a Messianic leader from southern Israel, has had a successful surgery and an amazing recovery but keep praying for total restoration |  Rania Sayegh asks for prayer of restoration of strength, energy, and complete healing.

Teaching Articles 

 by Dr. Daniel Juster  
Jerusalem Restoration from Zion (Tikkun from Zion) 
www.restorationfromzion.com  tikmin@tikkuninternational.org   www.tikkunministries.org USA offices: PO Box 2997 Gaithersburg, MD 20886-2997  Dan on Facebook Donate: https://tikkun.tv/dan-patty-give-restoration-zion/

Judeo-Christian Values A Surprising Controversy | Some years ago, a surprising controversy was covered by the Israeli press. The debate concerned plans of Israelis and Christian Zionists organizing joint events to support the State of Israel. One of the most important sponsoring organizations is the Christian Allies Caucus of the Israeli Knesset.  Amazingly, a woman on the Jerusalem City Council, Mina Fenton, succeeded in gaining a high level rabbinic ruling against these events. The rabbis declared it a violation of Halakhah (Jewish Law) for Jews to participate in these events. This decision was reviewed by the Chief Rabbis of Israel.

Fenton was a fierce opponent of Christian Zionists. This is foolish beyond belief because Christian Zionists are the backbone of support for the State of Israel in the United States and several other countries. Read more, click title.

Here are several other exceptional articles by Dan Juster: The World View Question | We are presently living with two primary opponents to our Biblical faith.  One is Islam and the other is Secular Relativism.

Zionism And Justice | Ten or so years ago I walked into an airport bookstore and saw Jimmy Carter's (then) new book on Israel and the Palestinians. At the time, there was been quite a commotion over this book. Carter used the word 'apartheid' to describe the potential of Israeli policies - I feared the worst. . . . For the sake of our readers then and now, I think it is important to have a short and solid statement of response. Messianic Jews are Biblical Zionists.  Zionism is the view that it is important for Jews to return to the Land of Israel and that this is a just and right cause.  Biblical Zionists add that this land has been given to the Jewish people as their homeland, which is a Scriptural teaching. There is a  clear promise of a returning to the Land repeated again and again throughout scriptures. The question remains, where should followers of Yeshua stand, both Jew and Gentile?

Re-Interpreting Scripture | Some years ago, I was asked to review two books that have a very negative slant on the modern State of Israel. I wrote a lengthy letter to one of the authors and have had extensive dialogue with the brother who recommended one of the books. Both books emphasize in detail Israel's sins against the Palestinian Arabs (as if this should change our understanding of what Scripture says?).  There is plenty of factual material for both Israelis and Palestinians to make a one sided case against the other. However, the most alarming assertion in these books was that because the New Testament does not explicitly emphasize the promise of the Land to the Jewish people, this must not be a continuing promise. In addition, both authors held that the New Testament re-interprets the Old Testament and universalized the idea of the Promised Land as a place for all God's people. "The meek shall inherit the earth."

Dan Juster is one of the Jewish elders whose deep theological knowledge and Spirit-inspired thinking has most impacted the Messianic movement since its rise in the late 1960's. To donate to this important voice in Israel and internationally, donate here. If you would like to receive Tikkun.TV articles, Send email to webmaster@tikkunministries.org to be added.




Donna Diorio 
donna@israelprayer.com or donna@d10r10.com
 
Please note change in PayPal donations:   
paypal.me/DonnaDiorio
Or by postal mail make donations payable to the order of Donna Diorio
P O Box 111302 Carrollton, Texas 75006 

I do not have tax exempt status. 




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Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Arrows from Zion 5/15/2019

Investing in the Next Generation ...of Israel-Supporting Christians

It caught my eye in January when the article notice came from a web alert I have set up. The Jerusalem Post headline read "Investing in the Next Generation" and it was all about the $60 million headquarters that Rabbi Eckstein's International Fellowship of Christian and Jews is building only 1 block away from the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.
Apparently money is no object in the IFCJ quest to capture the donations of future generations of Christians because four of Israel's most acclaimed architecture firms competed to build the 10,000 sq.meters, 7-floor Jerusalem HQ.
As the JPost article noted, "the warm and inviting structure is the organization’s way of telling the Christian world: come on in, this is your spiritual home." 


Rabbi Eckstein's daughter, Yael Eckstein, then the IFCJ Senior VP put it this way: “This center is not a Fellowship museum, but a building for Christians to visit physically and virtually that will help them deepen their spiritual roots in the Holy Land."
The plan is to use this impressive, extravagant HQ to draw in the Christian tourists is so they can "partake in pro-Israel programming" and, Yael Eckstein explained, "since many Christian visitors want to 'give back' to the country and help the people of Israel too, the building will provide volunteer opportunities. For example, visitors will be able to pack food packages for Holocaust survivors, sort clothes to be donated to the needy, and much more."
Of course, all of this is to be completely divorced from having any relationship whatsoever with the Israeli Jewish followers of Jesus who are the sharing their faith and seeing steadily increasing numbers of Jews come to faith in Israel's one true Messiah.
Here's the truth of the matter: Having spent the last two decades focused on Israeli ministries, I knew that IFCJ building would be paid for almost exclusively by Christians donations. Also, that not one Israeli believer ministry comes anywhere near receiving Christian donations equal to the massive amount of money that goes from Christian hands to Eckstein's IFCJ disposal.


That is a tragic on so many levels. One person who gives to IFCJ recently countered that the reason for the troubling fact  must be because IFCJ does a ‘much better job' of blessing Israel with the Christian donations than anyone else. That depends on what you think God wants Christian donations to Israel to do.
Let's review some of the facts. 


Here is a quote from the late Rabbi Eckstein himself and expresses the position of IFCJ: 

“… Until now,” Eckstein said, evangelicals “have realized that if they want to have relations with the Jewish community and Israel they have to put messianic groups aside because they know people like myself aren’t going to work with them …”

See how that statement separates Christians from their spiritual kin, the Israeli Messianic Jewish community? It also sets up Eckstein like IFCJ the only game in town.
Eckstein has gamed Christian good intentions toward Israel, but IFCJ is not the major artery that God intends for Christians to assist in ministering to the need in Israel. No sir. The major artery of material supply must be fed from within the body of Christ —meaning from the international Christians directly to the Israeli believer ministries for distribution to the needy in their own communities.
IFCJ are not the only ones ministering to the needy of Israel, what's more, IFCJ are not ministering in the faith of Jesus either. For every type of outreach that IFCJ does, the Israeli Messianic congregations and ministries also do to the same with one big difference: they do it to the glory of Messiah Yeshua! 

 Rabbi Eckstein died suddenly just a few weeks after the new HQ announcement was made, but his daughter, Yael, had been groomed for several years to take over. She has "inherited" the billion dollar charity which the Times of Israel noted "raises $130 million a year, mostly from evangelical Christians."
Imagine that amount financial support becoming the lifeblood of the Israeli Messianic congregations doing outreach among their people. The fact that it does not go to the body of Messiah in Israel brings one to consider how similar this is to the original entrance led by Joshua into the Promised Land "little by little".

Joshua, or Yehoshua, in Hebrew, was a forerunner type of Jesus (Yeshua) of the Jewish people entering the "Promised Land" of Israel. That is not the only parallel: Exodus 23:29 and Deuteronomy 7:22 may also give us a window into why more Christians are still not able to see God's intentions and join into the work of the ministry by the Israeli body of believers.

As the forerunner type, God told Moses ahead of Joshua's leading them into what would become Israel, that He was not enabling them to overcome the opposition "all at once" because that would cause "the wild beasts to multiply around you". Wild beasts indeed! Spiritual wild beasts that oppose the kingdom of the Lord coming to Israel!
There were 29 documented Jewish believers in Israel in 1948; 5 took the new Israeli government offer to relocate to other countries and 24 refused. From that humble beginning, in 2019 the numbers of Israeli Jews who believe in Yeshua has swelled to an estimated 20,000.
How is it with that kind of increase they are still such a hidden mystery even to the majority of the international church? Increasing this is changing as more and more in the international church are going to Israel specifically to connect with the believers in Israel. It is happening little by little, but should we not endeavor to help Israel-supporting Christians see how in throwing such heavy support to those who oppose the body of Messiah in Israel, that they are hurting Christ's cause in Israel, not helping it?

The late rabbi Eckstein died suddenly of a heart attack as 67. Just the day before he gave the last interview of his life saying some truly troubling things. The interview was given to The Jerusalem Report. It was only reported in Hebrew and was summarized in the Caspari Media Review of the Hebrew Press. In it Eckstein misrepresented New Covenant scriptures to bolster his own cause. 
"Eckstein referred to Romans 9, where Paul wrote that Christians have been grafted into the olive tree of Israel by grace. This passage, said Eckstein, provides impetus for Christians to be involved in work that supports Israel and the Jewish people."

Caspari's summary from the same Hebrew news magazine article noted that "IFCJ has 1.6 million Christian donors, and has raised 1.4 billion dollars, mainly from Christians."  
He also he said he had faced opposition both from the Haredi community, as well as Messianic Jews, who feel “they should be the ones to lead this movement of bridging Christians and Jews. And here we are, the largest organization with the biggest budget, and headed by a rabbi, even though most of our donors are Christians and we teach at Christian seminaries all over America.”
That statement is so grievous because it is not about a competition for donors as Eckstein saw it, but it is because it is God's plan to unite the Church with the Jewish believers in Israel.


The unsaved rabbi Eckstein twisted the meaning of the Romans passage. He was quite adept at appropriating New Covenant scriptures to suit his own purposes, but this passage was written by Paul to the believers in Rome. It was about how Christians were being "grafted in" by faith and to the faith of Jews who were the first to believe in Jesus — in great numbers of Jews according to the New Covenant.
Romans 9 was not about how Christians are grafted in to unsaved Israel, Paul laid out in great detail that unsaved Israel were the branches broken off because of their unbelief. Still today Christians are ONLY able to be grafted in to the saved branches of Israel. That is the only spiritual family ties we have in Israel, although our desire and heart is to help Israeli Jewish believers in all their labors to spread the Good News until "all Israel is saved". This is what Romans 9-11 is about, not at all how Rabbi Eckstein stated it. 

How it must have grieved God's heart to hear the arrogance in Rabbi Eckstein's statement and even more so that because of how he has stood in opposition to God's stated plan for uniting Jew and Gentile in the Messiah. 

The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews has been so successful in isolating Jewish believers in Jesus from the Christians who desire to please God by helping Israel. Why do major Christian organizations still support IFCJ despite this fact?
Over the years as many have tried to speak to Christian donors to the IFCJ and sadly many responded by accusing the Messianic Jews of being jealous of Rabbi Eckstein. Those who have eternal life in Yeshua are jealous of the rabbi who does not?
Reality check: it is not a matter of being jealous over the billions of dollars that have been misdirected from those building the kingdom of God through sharing the gospel with Jews, it is about trying to wake Christians up that they are being led astray by those that are hostile to the Gospel.

Both Eckstein and the ultra-Orthodox are hostile to the Gospel, only Eckstein was fine with taking as much money as you would give him. He would then distribute the funds as he saw fit. The calling of God upon the Israeli Jewish believers in Yeshua to minister and preach the Gospel until all Israel is saved would never enter into Eckstein's mind as a good thing to contribute to. Rather he actively opposed all Jewish believers that to the hilt. He thought them dangerous, "treasonous" and fake Jews.

IFCJ has been pulling the wool over Christian eyes long enough. Here are some confirmed points to counter the most recent Charisma Standing with Israel article, submitted by The KAIROS Company: "Fellowship of Christians and Jews Calls for Emergency Assistance"

• Rabbi Eckstein's salary with benefits totaled $1.2 million per year. That is DOUBLE what the president of World Vision—a ministry with a budget 10 times larger—earns.
• For every $1 raised 40¢ goes to fundraising & compensation
• Eckstein's daughter, who inherited IFCJ received a 63% Pay Raise in 4 Years! $206,491.00 to   $292,248.00 to $324,500.00
In Eckstein's 1984 book, What Christians Should Know About Jews and Judaism, he mischaracterized Messianic Jews by accusing:


“… By sprinkling their Christian lives of faith with Jewish customs and rituals taken out of their proper, historic context, they pervert Jewish symbols and make a mockery of the Jewish faith … A Jew who accepts Jesus as Lord or Messiah effectively ceases to be a Jew. He is viewed almost treasonously as having abandoned his faith, given up his Jewish heritage, and severed all links with the Jewish peoplehood … More than constituting an imposing threat to Jewish life and survival, Hebrew Christians are the source of much of the Jewish distrust of Evangelicals and the discord in their relations …”
How could he charge Jews who believe in Jesus as "constituting an imposing threat to Jewish life and survival"? Is there anyone ever in history who has been more Jewish than Jesus? Isn't a Jew discovering the Jewishness of Yeshua the best thing that could ever happen to a Jew —or to any person, for that matter?
The real tragedy is that so many Christians have believed every twisted thing that Rabbi Eckstein has told them to put Jews who believe in Jesus in the worst possible light — as if they are enemies of the Jewish people rather than the truth of who are and what they are in the plan of God.


Now IFCJ leadership has set its sights on capturing the hearts and donations of the next generation of Christians too. For as long as they are successful in this mission, they are strangling the lifeblood of Christian financial assistance to the hundreds of congregations and ministries across Israel who are declaring the faith of Yeshua to all Israel. We have to help them. We must. —Donna Diorio

 Lest anyone believe this is a personal attack on the late Rabbi Eckstein and his daughter who now heads the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, it is not. IFCJ is not the only organization that is causing a major bypass of Christian donations from reaching those spiritually mandated with reaching all Israel with the gospel, namely the saved Remnant of Israel.

As a friend and major leader in the Israeli Messianic leadership asked, "Don’t you think a lot of these Christians think that Jews are almost saved already?" He observed that even pre-Trib Christians "used to believe that if Jews died without Jesus they would go to hell, so what about all the Jews who die before the tribulation?  There is something fishy going on."

Those scales aren't fishy, but serpentine.

 Please share this article with anyone who gives donations to the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, and please pray for God to open the eyes of all those who need to see the truth for the days ahead. 
Arrows from Zion
Summarized from the Weekly Summary of Prayer Requests Israeli Ministries by subscription only donna@israelprayer.com
Israel Pochtar's Beit Hallel congregation and Voice of Judah Ministries is one of the many perfect examples of how Israeli ministries are doing humanitarian outreach even better than IFCJ - because they are doing it as a ministry of the Jewish Messiah Yeshua. As it happens, the focus Pochtar choice to highlight this week is their love, care and concern for the 200,000 Jews who are survivors of the Holocaust still living in Israel. Without exception, the congregations and ministries across Israel have a huge heart for these precious survivors whose numbers decrease with every passing year. 

As Pochtar wrote, a quarter of the Israeli Holocaust survivors are living in poverty. "Statistics shows that by the year 2025, about 102,000 are expected to still be alive, which amounts to half of the number of survivors still alive today, and all will be 85 years of age or older by then. By 2030, a quarter of the current number of Holocaust survivors,  53,000 in total, are estimated to still be alive, at which point they will be over 90 years of age. So in these statistics we see a picture painted of a dying generation that deserves to be honored, blessed, and to experience a dignified and better quality of life."

The IFCJ may have expensive, excessively emotional TV commercials designed to provoke greater giving response, but Israeli congregations are ministering from the heart of Jesus to these people who are in the last years of their lives. As Pochtar writes, "Imagine what an impact it would make on these dear survivors if believers from the nations were to extend a helping hand to them, showing them the love of Jesus in a practical and impacting way? Our work with them extends beyond just food packets, or practical aid they so desperately need and are so grateful for. Our care ministry to the holocaust survivors also involves weekly house visits from our team, who check up on them, witness to them about the love of God, making sure they don't feel lonely or forgotten. We also host international Christian teams who want to meet these precious people during their Israel trip, bring them a gift, drink tea with them and just embrace them."

I can't imagine why any Christian would prefer to donate to IFCJ rather than through believer congregations throughout Israel whose hearts are in sync with the Lord's own heart for these elderly, unsaved Jews.

Next up, Avner Boskey announces an early summer tour of the Western to mid-West & southern states from Texas to Georgia up to Tennessee. The time to book is now, so reach out by contacting them via David's Tent website

Marianna Gol, whose widows and orphans ministry Streams in the Desert, writes a glowing follow up report on their Passover Hike: "All of our prayer requests were answered....Breakthroughs In individual lives: Several of the youth gave their lives to the Lord. Five of the youth received the gift of tongues and had powerful testimonies to go with the experience. There was a lot of opportunity for relationship building, plenty of time for everyone to talk and to 'open up'. The shofar blowing itself released personal freedom and an increase in faith. It awoke many in their spirits, and stirred prophetic giftings and awareness." Connect directly with the ministry to learn more or in the Weekly Summary, if you are a subscriber

Intercessors for Israel in Jerusalem (IFI) shares full Friday Prayer Points for May 10th online here

Ron Cantor of Messiah's Mandate celebrated his birthday on Israel's 71st Independence Day anniversary. Walking home from the huge celebrations going on, he and Elana "encountered hundreds of young people, amongst thousands, singing songs of the Messiah and God has our protector. I felt it was a prophetic moment, as one day they will see and know their Messiah. Watch the video Israeli Young People Cry out for Messiah. I hope this video moves you to pray for the people of Israel..so close, yet so far. Thousands of people gathered on Rothschild St. in Tel Aviv to celebrate 71 years of Independence. They cry out, "Messiah, Messiah, Messiah," but don't know to whom they call out. Please pray!"

Ron also writes: "In Tel Aviv we are PREACHING THE GOOD NEWS...Feeding the Poor...Healing the Sick...Discipling Believers and Raising Up Leaders. We can only do it because of partners like you. Please DONATE to help us reach them."

From Revive Israel, Asher Inrater's video Our Challenges Today VS the Book of Acts (Part 2) | Inheriting Zion by Yoni Koski | VIDEO Training Young Israeli Leaders in Asia | Cody Archer with Jeremiah Smilovici, Tal Haroni & Ahallela Nickalls

Also this report "2018 was a time of great growth for Revive Israel, but in early 2019 we have seen an unprecedented increase in the number of requests for visits from our team, demand for our media services, and opportunities to minister to the needs of people. We are seeking to be strategic in how we steward these opportunities for the sake of the Kingdom of God, and at the same time to be wise in ensuring the stability of our team and ability to respond in an effective way. " The report goes on to give insight into the purposes of the Nesher Project established by Shavei Tzion congregation Read more details online here


Certified Tour Guide (and congregant at the HaMaayan congregation in Kfar Saba, Ran Silberman has a blog where he writes about many biblical and inspirational facts about Israel, which he undoubtedly shares with the tour groups he leads. Here is one of his latest, A Void in the Word

Guy Cohen of the Akko congregation, Harvest of Asher, share a message on Sanctification, exploring the question, How is it possible to be sanctified or holy before God? Connect directly with the ministry to learn more or in the Weekly Summary, if you are a subscriber

 Ye'shi Reinhardt's humanitarian efforts began in Jerusalem with terror attack victims, but when S'derot began to take the major brunt of rockets fired from Gaza many years ago, he re-focused a major effort in S'derot itself. He wrote this week: "Please continue to lift up our team and the residents of S'derot in your prayers to Almighty G-D, as we continue to watch His unfailing love and His miracles of protection and provision, while we reach out with His "Hands of Mercy" to the most vulnerable members of our community. Help us to help them. Click to Donate | ''You shall rise before the gray-headed and honor the aged, and you shall fear your G-D with profound reverence, I am the L-RD."  (Levicitus 19:32)

The Maoz Israel Report by Shira Sorko-Ram is out with a report on the recent elections Israel Turns Right. Shira also writes, "Regardless of where Israel is headed politically, the Bible promises that the people of Israel will, one day, turn back to God and see the truth that Yeshua is our promised Messiah. Forty-Three years ago Maoz Israel was born with the vision to reach our nation with the Good News. This vision still drives everything we do." Read more in her article Support the Gospel in Israel. Also Eliezer Ben Yehuda - A Roadmap to the Impossible | How Is This Dictionary Different? | Israelis Read Books!

They pastor the HaCarmel congregation, but also the Kerem-El congregation: Pastor Daniel and LuAnne Sayag report on the recent activities from the Purim festivities, to four new believer water immersions as two married couples expressed their faith through public baptism. Among the prayer requests they send are praising God for all the rain, deepening faith and relationships for the congregation, request for the annual congregational retreat next month, pray that God will provide the financial needs and that it would be a blessed time of fellowship and encouragement. For financial provision for all that is needed by this ministry.

Avi and Chaya Mizrachi are the pastors of the Adonai Roi congregation, but their Dugit Outreach is the focus of this prayer request which is for all their ministry activities on the streets as celebrations have been happening, Israel's 71st, Eurovision contest, and their coffee shop outreach, HaOgen. "We are looking forward to serving guests with love during this busy time in our city. The harvest is ready! Would you join us in praying for opportunities to share the Gospel with Israeli's as well as visitors from other nations? Would you also pray for hearts to be tender to hear the message of hope through Yeshua? We appreciate your prayers and support so much! To learn more about our ministry in Tel Aviv, click on these links: Who We Are | What We Do |  Please Help us reach Tel Aviv with the Gospel of the kingdom by Giving Now"

Israel Today features this article by Michael Decker that spells out new law in Israel. For the first time " Israel implements a foreign investment visa allowing holders to live in the Jewish state indefinitely"

From Tikkun.TV Marty Shoub writes Raising The Banner For The Gentiles about God's special plans for the Nations in relation to Israel. This is one you want to read.

Urgent HEALING Needs: Life and Death is in the power of the tongue
Please keep in prayer these Israeli ministry leaders and believers with urgent health needs

CONTINUE to PRAY for the urgent healing needs of EDDIE SANTORO and Jacob Damkani | Ronit Bender is awaiting repair of leaking heart valve. Please pray that no weapon formed against all three of these shall prosper & that miracles of healing will flow. NEW: Martin Sarvis has undergone arthroscopic surgery for a torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder. He will be in a shoulder/arm immobilizer for a month followed by physiotherapy to regain use of his arm. Since he needs his arm for typing and as a pianist in his worship leading at Succat Hallel, this is a significantly urgent request for successful surgery & fast, complete healing.
    Ruth Nessim has several health issues, one of the most critical is her EYES which has sent her to the hospital many times. Please pray for Ruth in Nahariya|  Olga Bikas’s health condition that seems to have become chronic, with no hope from the doctors for any improvement in the future. This, no doubt, puts an additional emotional and physical burden on our family. Please pray for her acute back pain. | Albert a Messianic leader from southern Israel, has had a successful surgery and an amazing recovery but keep praying for total restoration |  Rania Sayegh asks for prayer of restoration of strength, energy, and complete healing.





Donna Diorio 
donna@israelprayer.com or donna@d10r10.com
 
Please note change in PayPal donations:   
paypal.me/DonnaDiorio
Or by postal mail make donations payable to the order of Donna Diorio
P O Box 111302 Carrollton, Texas 75006 

I do not have tax exempt status. 

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